Student / Site Member Feature

Favorites

This is one of the many features and benefits that ALL active student and Gold plan site members receive.

Use the favorite button to tag your favorite lessons and songs that you are working on or really like.

Use the completed button to tag your favorite lessons that you have completed. With over 500 lessons it can be hard to track just what you have already worked on or visited.

Member Access Levels

These bronze, silver and gold medals, like the Olympic medals) indicate that this lesson is either a public and free lesson, song or book , a FREE ( almost free at $19.95 a year ) membership or a PREMIUM membership lesson .

Bronze indicates that this is a public lesson with with access to any registered visitor - no need to sign-in up for a site membership. Registered visitors can view most of the content on-line only and with smaller thumbnails. No access to downloads, play-along tracks and related lessons material for download.

Silver is the Almost FREE ( almost free at $19.95 a year ) membership level where limited availability of downloads and all lesson material can be viewed on-line. This membership level can view thumbnails of the entire lesson - however only the downloaded file insures the latest and greatest lesson - the extra production step with updating the thumbnails doesn't always happen.

Gold This is the Premium membership level that, in addition to downloading ALL lesson content can access ALL the premium play-along tracks - and email me any questions that would like answered. Especially things like what you are working n and I can probably point you to the right lessons or series of lessons. This level also has access to most of my ( Curt Sheller ) books for free download.

Each membership level has access to ALL the lower membership lessons, books and songs.

A Guide to Ukulele Chords, 2nd Edition

A Guide to Ukulele Chords, Second Edition is designed as a guide to ukulele chords. Covering the basic ukulele chords that ALL ukulele players SHOULD know. A Guide to Ukulele Chords covers movable chord forms, rock chords, how to transpose chords, learning the ukulele fingerboard and includes an introduction to 4-part, a.k.a jazz chords and more...

From a few core, basic chord shapes and a understanding of how chords are constructed. Your chord vocabulary can be dramatically increased without memorizing countless chord shapes. There are too many chord shapes to memorize.

This book will take the mystery out playing and understanding chords on the ukulele, whether it is a standard, concert, tenor or baritone ukulele in C tuning, low or high string four.

Foreword

“There are too many chord shapes to memorize,” writes Curt Sheller in his new volume A Guide to Ukulele Chords. No doubt, memorization can be limiting if it isn’t grounded in understanding. So, how are chords made and how are they named? Over the course of the chapters ahead, Mr. Sheller draws on his wealth of musical experience, offering answers to these questions and more. Beginning with the most accessible chords and progressing to the more challenging ones, the lessons that follow are of value to both rookie and veteran players.

A Guide to Ukulele Chords is well organized, informal yet informative and promotes understanding over memorization. “A chord dictionary,” as Mr. Sheller writes, “is not the answer.” A concise guide to understanding chord structure, however, just might be.

Introduction

After playing jazz guitar for 20 years, I rediscovered the ukulele. Then I learned that ukulele players struggle (like guitar players) with movable chord forms and the more advanced chords, commonly called “jazz” chords. There was no clear, concise, organized book for guiding an aspiring ukulele player through this maze of chords, so I decided to write one.

This book is a guide to the basic chords all ukulele players should know. It introduces the ukulele fingerboard, movable chord forms and 4-part jazz chords, all in three common ukulele tunings. You can build your new skills on the simplest chords. You can also learn, rock chords and chordal transposition. In addition to doing extensive research, I have tested and improved these materials during several years of studio teaching.

From a few basic chord shapes and an understanding of how chords are constructed, your chord vocabulary can be dramatically increased without endless memorizing. In fact, this book will take the mystery out of playing and understanding ukulele chords on a standard, concert, tenor, or baritone ukulele, using “C” tuning, low or high string four.

Tunings: C Tunings. Low or high string four variations.

Lefties of the world! Don’t feel left out. There’s a version for you: A Guide to Ukulele Chords for Lefties

Book Samples

Book Samples: A Guide to Ukulele Chords, 2nd Edition

Sample pages may appear faded, cropped, or partially obscured. Downloaded copies do not include these imperfections and are the most up-to-date versions, including all edits, additions and revisions in a printer friendly format.

Basic Ukulele Chord Chart

Related Books

A Guide to Advanced Ukulele Chords - Volume I

Beyond learning basic Ukulele chords most players struggle with advanced chords. Commonly called 'jazz' chords, these more sophisticated voicings find a wide use in all forms of music.

A Guide to Advanced Chords for Ukulele - presents a highly organized and efficient approach to the mysterious subject of advanced chords. Chord dictionaries are not the answer. Even chord theory does not offer any insight into unraveling the complexity of Ukulele chord voicings.

BC1UKE

A Guide to Ukulele Chords

A Guide to Ukulele Chords covers the basic ukulele chords that ALL ukulele players SHOULD know. Plus, an introduction to movable chord forms, rock chords, how to transpose chords, jazz chords and more.

AGCUKE1STD

Exploring Jazz Chords on Ukulele

Exploring jazz chords using a variety of common chord progressions based on songs from the standard jazz repertoire.

Core Chords are the basic set of chords needed to play a wide range of music, in a variety of styles. This set of chords includes basic open position chords, basic movable form chords and the core 4-part "jazz" chords.

This books focuses on the 4-part core "jazz" chords. These jazz'€ chords are advanced chords that find their way into a wide range of music.

UKESTRUM1

A Guide to Ukulele Strums

Learn a variety of strums and rhythmic patterns in wide range of musical styles.

One of the first skills a ukulele player learns is the art and craft of strumming, playing rhythm. This refers to an accompaniment technique suitable for the singer, singer - songwriter or someone who plays a support role for another instrument.

Strumming requires a specific set of skills:

Memorization of chords

The ability to switch chords smoothly

The ability to choose and execute a suitable rhythmic strum

It's this 3rd skill that is our focus in A Guide to Ukulele Strums and Rhythmic Patterns.

Just browsing over both books, they look fantastic! I'm a guitarist and uke player for over 25 years and was thinking about writing a ukulele book but you've already written what I think are the best, most comprehensive and thorough books I've ever seen for the instrument. I just might end up buying every book you've written and I'll be giving my highest recommendation for your books to my friends and students. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such great books! — Peter Rhee

Aloha, Curt, All I can say is WOW! What you have accomplished is simply incredible! All the best — Glen Hirabayashi, The Aloha Boys

Folks, if you haven't stopped by Curt's site, do so right now! ..And get his books, they are fantastic. This guy knows his stuff and is able to pass it along too. — Alan Johnson Proprietor, The 4th Peg

I can highly recommend Curt's Uke books — I have four of them and they are excellent. — fatveg — Portland

Thanks for visiting and checking out the site!

Content is added and updated almost daily - so check back often.

LearningUkulele.com has one of the largest collections of lessons, songs, and TABS, luthiers, ukulele builders, ukulele festival and club information, and, ukulele links on the web. I’ve been on the ®Internet since the early 1990's and This site just never stops growing!!!

PICS ARE FROM VARIOUS LINKS. FAIR USE NOTICE:: This site contains images of which have not been pre-authorized. This material is made available for the purpose of analysis, teaching, comment and critique. The 'fair use' of such material is provided for under U.S. Copyright Law. In accordance with U.S. Code Title 17, Section 107, material on this site (along with credit links and attributions to original sources) is viewable for educational and intellectual purposes. (frwebgate.access.gpo.gov)

If you are interested in using any copyrighted material from this site for any reason that goes beyond 'fair use,' you must first obtain permission from the copyright owner.

This sit has ben profesionaly red. awl tpyos aree free and no aditonal chrge • I'm blaming it on “jazz” fingers
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.